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By Paul Fitzgerald The Toronto Tribune
Mississauga, Ontario (April 4, 2018)  

According to ASI (Adverting Specialty Institute) TNT is dynamite.

ASI and its leading industry magazine, The Counselor, just released its list of top industry workplaces in Canada and the United States this week and The Next Trend (TNT) Designs Inc. ranks 6^th overall. Only 40 companies made the 2018 list.

ASI is the promotional product industry’s largest membership organization offering media, technology, marketing and education to help cultivate success and community comradery at the international level.

TNT is a dynamic and innovative company and ASI credits the owners for putting a strong emphasis on employee happiness. For TNT it’s a smart way of doing business.

“Without our team, we wouldn’t be who we are as a company,” explains Janine Taylor, the co-founder and co-owner of TNT, in an interview with The Counselor. Taylor co-founded the company 26 years ago with her partner, Rob Charlton. “As much as we try to give them, we get back ten-fold.”

TNT goes out of its way to make sure every employee feels appreciated and loved. The company hosts summer and holiday parties, and rewards both its top performers as well as accumulated years of loyalty, with gifts.  Parties are thrown for birthdays, going away and other events throughout the year.  TNT likes to do most life events with their team in style.

The Counselor also reports that TNT has cultivated a tight-knit culture and “offers compensation above the national average.”

A happy workplace generates better productivity, innovation and success, according to the company’s long list of employees. As a result, a happy workplace makes happy clients. TNT’s clients across North America applaud their diverse products and services and this is why they have a high rate of repeat clients and constant growth year after year. Just recently TNT made the PROFIT 500 list again, with a five-year revenue growth of 89 percent. PROFIT 500 is the definitive ranking of Canada’s Fastest Growing Companies.

“It’s great to be recognized by ASI; however, we would never be where we are today without our team of professionals,” says Charlton.

Taylor adds, “Since opening our doors for business in 1992, we always knew that happy employees would help create a successful company… And we were right. When you look after your team, they look after you. We have created a work environment that is positive, fun and ambitious. Looking after ‘our own’ is the reason why we are one of the best places to work in North America and we are elated to receive accolades from ASI.”

Many know that happiness is a great feeling. For Charlton and Taylor, it’s a way of life!

For the full story in The Counselor, click here: No. 6: The Next Trend Designs, Best Places To Work/One of Canada’s Fastest Growing Companies, 2018

It’s an exciting day in the promotional products business as I scour the many recruiting and job search websites to find a few good sales people. We are growing and we require more sales people to look after our growing client base. Does this sound like you?

I will begin by saying that the promo business is not for everyone and that really good sales people are hard to find. I am not sure whether it is because it is not that appealing to the average sales person or if it is because that good sales people don’t understand that they can make very good money in this industry and be able to sell something to any type of business out there. That to me, would be like getting the golden ticket from Willy Wonka. Sell some kind of promotional item to any business that I walked up to? Be able to put logo’s on hundreds of thousands of products and get paid to do it? Sign me up!! Well, I will say that we have hired two new sales reps in the last 6 months and they have proven to be great hires. Both have come from sales backgrounds but not from the promo business. There is a learning curve that takes time and many resources to get new people up to speed. We all know that. In this business of logo’d corporate items, there is much to understand and plenty to learn out of the gate. Good people pick it up right away. The biggest question is “how hungry are you”? As a good friend of mine once told me years ago, as a commissioned sales rep you wake up broke everyday no matter how much you made yesterday. This keeps you hungry and hunting.

In this promotional products industry, there are a lot of sales people out there that are not exactly enamored with their current place of employment but they are nervous to leave for fear of losing current clients. I get it! The way I look at it is if they have clients that they brought in, looked after and built a relationship with, why would they not follow their star sales rep? I would. Wouldn’t you? At The Next Trend Designs Inc, we offer a better than most profit sharing, excellent benefits program, marketing,  fantastic culture and working environment as well as lead generation. Most of our current sales team have been here for 15 +years and would have moved on if they did not thrive in this culture.

So, TNT is looking for a few good sales people and the call has gone out to those of you who are hungry, tired of your current situation, looking for a change, wanting to thrive in a new environment. Can you hear the bell? It’s ringing and success in on the other end. If it were me, I would pick it up and listen to what it had to say. That is my view!!   

 The Next Trend Designs Inc. Ranks No. 460 on the 2017 PROFIT 500

Mississauga, Ontario (September 14, 2017) Canadian Business and PROFIT today ranked The Next Trend Designs Inc No. 460 on the 29th annual PROFIT 500, the definitive ranking of Canada’s Fastest-Growing Companies. Published in the October issue of Maclean’s magazine and at CanadianBusiness.com, the PROFIT 500 ranks Canadian businesses by their five-year revenue growth. 

The Next Trend designs Inc. a privately-owned company, made the 2017 PROFIT 500 list with five-year revenue growth of 89%.

“It is never easy to earn a spot on the PROFIT 500, but this year’s applicant pool was the most competitive yet,” says Deborah Aarts, PROFIT 500 program manager. “This year’s winners demonstrate the resilience, innovation and sheer management smarts it takes to build a thriving business today. Canada—and the world—needs more entrepreneurial success stories like these.” 

“The Next Trend Designs Inc is honoured to be on the PROFIT 500 ranking, once again” says CEO Janine Taylor. “This achievement is reflective of the dedication of our team and the continued strengthening of our relationships with our clients as well as our vendors within our Industry”.  Janine goes on to say that “These factors and relationships are key to our company’s success”.

The Next Trend Designs Inc is celebrating their twenty fifth year in business this year.  Robert Charlton and Janine Taylor started the business in 1992 in Port Credit, ON.  TNT prides themselves on keeping in stride with the ever-changing technology in the marketplace, providing better creative solutions for their clients and making TNT one of the best places to work for their employees. With previous awards such as “One of Canada’s Best Places To Work” and “Canada’s Fastest Growing Businesses”, The Next Trend Designs Inc. is well known for continually challenging the status quo and nurturing a culture of winning.  

About the PROFIT 500 For 29 years, the PROFIT 500 has been Canada’s most respectable and influential ranking of entrepreneurial achievement. Developed by PROFIT and now published in Maclean’s magazine and at CanadianBusiness.com, the PROFIT 500 ranks Canadian companies on five-year revenue growth. For more information on the ranking visit PROFIT500.com or CanadianBusiness.com. 

About Canadian Business Founded in 1928, Canadian Business is the longest-serving and most-trusted business publication in the country. It is the country's premier media brand for executives and senior business leaders. It fuels the success of Canada's business elite with a focus on the things that matter most: leadership, innovation, business strategy and management tactics. Learn more at CanadianBusiness.com. 

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